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MonoNeon

Known as MonoNeon, Dywante Thomas Jr. is an American bassist and experimental musician and native of Memphis, Tennessee. He is known for his presence on YouTube playing bass guitar and known for being one of the last people to work with Prince.

Thomas is a Grammy Award-winning artist, for is participation on the 2020 NAS studio album King’s Disease.

While Thomas is right-handed, he plays left-landed upside down on a right-handed bass guitar, which allows him to use heavy string bending on the upper strings. His slapping style/technique is unique because he is executing everything upside-down, but still uses the thumb for slaps and fingers for pops.

Musicians like Marcus Miller have noticed his playing style. His musical background is heavily influenced by southern soal, blues and funk.

Feature article, Bass Musician Magazine by Kilian Duarte

“… I got another one of those emails a few months later asking to come back… this time it was to work with Prince – this was late 2015… I became his bassist for a new band he was forming with Kirk Johnson on drums, Adrian Crutchfield on saxophone and Donna Grantis on guitar. We played various shows at Paisley with Prince. During that time (late 2015/early 2016) I started recording with him. Kirk said, “Prince wants you to come to Studio A”. When I got back there, Prince was playing a track from the album that we recorded; it was just me and him in the control room. He handed me his guitar and asked me to play along with the track to see how it sounded. After I played, I gave the guitar back to him – he smiled, and said I will see you in a minute. My final time with Prince was in February for a late night studio session – (listen here)

If I knew that was going to be my last moments with him, I wish I would of said to him, “I love you. Thank you for embracing me and giving me a chance.”

Andy Timmons

As guitarist for pop-metal band Danger Danger, Andy Timmons toured the world opening for Kiss and Alice Cooper, sold over a million records worldwide, and had two #1 videos on MTV, plus amassing a discography that includes 7 solo releases that range from blazing guitar instrumentals, to blues, and even a Beatles/Elvis Costello-inspired collection of pop tunes.

Timmons embarked on a solo career in the mid 90s. His newest album Electric Truth, was released April 1, 2022 where he explores blues and jazz.

Reviews

Joe Miller, Defenders of the Faith, Andy Timmons Interview

“If there ever was a “guitarist’s guitarist”, it would be Andy Timmons. The Danger Danger shredder turned solo artist has spent nearly 30 years creating instrumental rock that’s both innovative and exciting (most releases in this category are one or the other, seldom both). On his latest album, Electric Truth, Timmons touches on facets of blues, jazz, funk, and more; never losing sight of his musical identity along the way. Call it zealous, call it adventurous, call it larger than life: All that and more would be accurate descriptors for this six string savant. We sat down with Timmons to discuss his creative inspirations, ambitions for the future, and that time he accidentally upstaged Steve Vai.”

Andrew Catania, AllThatShredsMagazine.com

“The truth is that Electric Truth is a thrilling listen from beginning to end, not just for fans of guitar music, but fine music in general. The performances are magnificent, the songwriting is top notch, and the seamless transition from genre to genre, sometimes within a single song, is something Timmons should be extremely proud of. That being said, I’m sure by the time I’m finished writing this review, Timmons will be busy at work on his latest opus, which will probably be a hybrid of death metal, bluegrass, and EDM.”

James Francies

Called “a pianist with liquid dynamism in his touch” by the New York Times.

Since his debut album Flight entranced listeners in 2018, pianist-producer James Francies has expanded personal explorations of sound bending and orchestral approaches to the music. Collaborations across stylistic realms — including those with Childish Gambino, Pat Metheny, Mark Ronson, The Roots, YEBBA, Chris Potter, Common, Eric Harland, Marcus Miller, DJ Dahi and Ms. Lauryn Hill — have enhanced his development and refined his sound. In issuing Purest Form, his second Blue Note release, Francies accesses intimate chambers of his artistry across 14 tracks, interpreting love, grief, frailty, and fortitude.

Francies, like his Blue Note predecessors Robert Glasper, Jason Moran, Chris Dave and Kendrick Scott, is a proud Houstonite and a graduate of that city’s High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA), one of the nation’s most reliable incubators for era-defining jazz talent.

He met Questlove and Roots keyboardist James Poyser a few years ago—subbing for Poyser on Roots concerts and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon; participating in the Roots-produced Hamilton cast recording, in addition to other film and TV score work organized by Quest; and, currently, collaborating with The Roots emcee Black Thought on a Broadway show.

Suzanne Lorge, DownBeat Reviews

On James Francies’ second Blue Note album, the pianist doesn’t so much compose music as conjure fascinating nebulae of sound. Like Flight, his 2018 label debut, the sequel continues Francies’ research into music as an abstract language grounded in the stuff of everyday life — vulnerability, resolve, love.